Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren

Book Blurb

Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.

Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved…

and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know…and love itself.

 

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds… until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

My Review

Characters

Gabi was a strong heroine in the story.  She adjusted quickly to her new life in the fourteenth-century, which helped to move the story forward without a hundred pages of her freaking out (I hate that!).  At times she was a bad-ass 21st century girl, and at other times she was very timid.  I didn't always understand why she reacted the way she did, but I did like her and nothing about her disrupted the story for me.    

 

Plot

I had a hard time putting this down!  I really enjoy time travel stories- I remember reading some variation of a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court as a kid.  Something about time travel just sparks my imagination!  Anyways, I thought it was a nicely written story, and it never made me roll my eyes or groan!  I can't speak to its historical accuracy at all, but the world in which Gabi found herself was fascinating.

Relationship

I liked the love interest, Marcello, but I definitely would have liked to see them together more in the story.  I found myself wondering throughout the book about their future, and what Gabi would decide to do.   I'm really torn about how I want this one to end, so it will be interesting to see what the author does with Gabi and Marcello's relationship. 

Overall

This was 5 stars for me.  I enjoyed it from start to finish, and I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel, it is already on my Amazon Wishlist (along with 200 other books- yikes).